the woman plans to help a child in need . >> singer mike pozner penned a new song named heaven. ♪ and i will understand why you have gone. he hopes the song will help in a difficult time . >> that is it for us. fox and friends starts right now. >> gretchen: good morning,erving. today is tuesday, december 18th and this is it a camera run. hey, everyone. i am gretchen carlson. >> two more tiny victims laid to rest today as fellow students take on the difficult task of returning to class . we are live with the latest for you. >> steve: we are also getting to know the victims of the horrible tragedy like the hero

teacher who stopped at nothing to save her children's lives. >> brian: we are getting a first look at the marine locked nup mexico. he's chained to the bed all for having a legal gun. mexican authorities say it is good treatment. we disagree. fox and friends starts right now. ♪ fox and friends. >> gretchen: good morning and thanks for sharing your time with us today on tuesday . this is the second day of goodbyes in newtown, connecticut as two more young victims of the horrible massacre are laid to rest. we'll go out to peter doocy, he will talk about james, who is called jay. he was a numbers guy and the other is jessica reko who loved everything about horses

and playing with her brothers. other newtown schools will head back to school. and we'll hear more on what led to the shooting. hi, peter. >> gretchen, last night i was walking around and the streets are packed with people milling about in complete silence. the only noise you hear are cars and trucks passing by . yesterday, several of those trucks were moving trucks complete with their own police escort taking the furniture from inside of sandy hook over to mono, ron monroe to chalk hill middle school which is where students displaced by the awful tragedy will go back to class when the district decides that the time is right. >> the sandy hook school

furniture is going to be move out and so it will be age and height and wait appropriate. but the healing and the back to normal see is worth every effort. >> authorities say they had no contact with adam lanza before his massacre on friday and any kind of a criminal background is a mist row to authorities here who - mystery to authorities here to what made him do such a horrible thing. two adults that are surviving the massacre are recovering from gun shot wounds to their lower extremities. the connecticut police promise we will get the details but it will take a while. i know, we know as investigators that the people of the connecticut and people in the town of newtown want to

know what happened. we are going to do that and provide them with information and paint them a clear picture but it is a slow process roads e closed for the funeral of the young children. even thote beautiful new england town is nicely decorated for the holidays. there are twen children and six adults that will never spend the holidays with their families ever again. back to you in new york. >> we are trying to look at what is unfolding and trying to put together on the day of the actul massacre on friday at 9:30. there will be a second survivor that was able to live through the would you knows they obtained in the attack and one fascinating story

about the 27 year old teacher who lost her life trying to save her children. >> you are talking about victoria soto trying to get them in the closest. they freaked out when they heard the shooting and went running and six of them were shot. there she is right there. she died. trying to save them. clearly a hero teacher. her college room man went to eastern connecticut state university and roommates for most of the college careers and shy talked to one of our affiliates in texas describing a young woman, victoria soto who loved to teach with all of her heart. >> she loved her job and she loved them and i was not surprised that she would protect them and give their

life to save theirs. i knew vicki would do that. these kids were her life . >> show had them in the closest and then she was trying to distract the shooter by saying they went to the gym nasium. and in the since of panic. kids ran out and they lost their lives along with her. this is it the victoria soto as she is getting her reaction to what she is finding out. >> brian: she is not finding out about her sister. >> steve: begging for information about her sister. outside of the school. she said that picture will hawn her for the rest of the her life because it brought her back to the moment and it

will be an iconic photo. tell get worse for her. what about the rest of the soto's class they ran out of the build theyened up on the front lawn of psychicologist of jean rosen. >> steve: he had been in a diner and there is a picture of him after he realized what happened. and he found in the end of his driveway six of them sitting in a circle. we can't go back to school . mrs. soto is dead. he didn't know what to do. they were terrified. he didn't understand. and he was putting it together he tock them to his house and had them, a bus driver showed up and she had the phone numbers to the children's parents and they called the parents to let them know they were okay . he gave them juice and stuffed animals and he was there for

them. >> gretchen: another mother came to his door and said i heard you had some of the surverifying children here at the home, did you have my child and he said he later read that that choiled had died. >> brian: so much of that story these kids are able to absorb. the big gun and little gun . that means they didn't stay in the closest. they ran out probably all at the same time maybe not in the same section. six panicked ran out and others stayed. it seems by what the kids are saying. they ran out ask they avoided being shot. and some of the families are dealing with this in ways. the question is whether or not you tell them about what happened. a lot of the kids have not been told what happened. and a lot of parents are not

going to let the kids go to school for a while. and it will be interesting to see how many kids do go that far. fox news confirmed that the president of iraq is in a coma after suffering a stroke. they are not decoided whether he will be flown to another country for treatment. he had signs of fatigue. dow jones will try to sell the gop on the latest plan to avoid going off the fiscal cliff . sours say it includes one trillion in spending cuts and one trillion in revenue also the chance that the debt ceiling would be incrosed one year and still yet to be determined if tax rates will go up for some americans. the president is offering a

tax rate hike on those makes more than $400,000 a year . that is a change from $250,000 or and some republicans are concerned that party leaders have made too many concessions. key law makers are detailed on the report on the benghazi libya terror atax. and on thursday two of secretary of state hol aids will testify about the act in front of congress. she fell and suffered a concussion and will not be able to be there. former ambassador to the united nations doesn't believe it adds up. >> every foreign ministry knows the phrase i will about to use. when you don't want to go to a meeting or conference event

you have a diplomatic illness and this is one to beat the band. i certainly hope it is nothing serious and this was reveal would in a way that was not transparent and i think there is an obligation here. >> doctors say it may take several weeks before mrs. clinton can get back to work. >> he represents hawaii from the time it bicame a state in 1951. and in 1945 in world war ii, he was lobbying hand grenades to the enemy and lost his roit arm. he was friends with a fellow american soldier named bob dole and they went together to champion for veteran's rights .

the senator died from respiratory complications and he was 88 years old and his last word was aloha. >> steve: we told you the story over the last couple of weeks by the marine by the name of john hammer. he was going hunting to costa ricka and when he was in matamoras mexico. he declared i have this gun and they say it is not a proper size. they threw him in jail. he did not have the proper permits. but what is interesting about that isolation cell. it is a storage closest. >> gretchen: he's chained to the bed. and we interviewed his mother and he's been chained their since august. he got the gun from his great

grand father he registered it before he crossed the border and he was told it is okay. is he held illegally on false charges. hed representatives in state of florida. rubio and others to help him. so far, the state department does not appear they are involved as some believe they should . >> brian: here's the big thing. it turns out the gun is legal . he shouldn't be in jail let alone treated like this as a american marine. this is outrageous and we'll follow the story. >> steve: it is it a trumped up gun charge. his hot gun was -- i hope he's watching. mr. president, this is what your country is doing to this proud marine. you crack down with a gun that is 25 or less.

and this is 24. it is one inch lower than the standard it is trumped up. >> gretchen: drug cartels run the prisons. his mom is coming on our show in the 8:00 hour. there is a huge debate in our country. >> brian: john boehner agreed to tax hikes, but now the president has another request. will the republicans buy it. mya love is on deck and right through the door. begin.

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>> steve: you are looking live at washington d.c. in the capitol, believe it or not law makers hoping to avoid the fiscal cliff are making progress. aides said they were closer to cutting a deal. but one thing that will not click is tax hikes. how much would they be and who will would have to pay them when it come to revenue. joining us is saradoga springs, utah mayor mya love. he wanted tax increases and would now settle for 1.2 trillion and impact $400,000 or more.

and sounds like he squished a bit on it and what do you think about the supposed deal? >> it is not much movement from the president's side. in if you are going for $250,000 to $400,000 that is not much. young came out with a report saying if you tax the top two brackets that will cost you 700,000 jobs. these are janitors going in and having their manager say i am sorry wecan't afford you any longer and these people are working pay check to pay check. they need mon tow feed their family. >> gretchen: - >> steve: the president wanted a two year debt limit.

and that was the republicans leverage. it seems like the republicans are getting the short end of the stick. >> steve: it is the only leverage they had to negotiate a deal and to give that up for two years. what will happen next yire? they have begin up every leverage they have. the president holds all of the cards here and the administration holds the card give that up for two years is ridiculous. >> steve: you listen to charles krauthammer made a great point. the republicans still hold the house and it is still divided government if the president was to sail off the fiscal cliff, that would damage his legacy and the president doesn't want that. that would be time for let's make a deal. >> i think we backed ourselves

in uation where it is lose-lose for the republicans and the american people. we are trying to form political policy without political opinion. we have to get the american people behind us. we are fighting the same battles with as the 13th. and instead of owned by a planitation owner we are enslaved to the federal government. >> steve: if they are cutting taxes a trillion and cut spending a trillion that is a wash. >> we have a serious spending problem. we at our homes have to live within our mines and we washington to do the same thing and it is not happening. >> steve: thank you for being here. straight ahead nearly every mass murderer has a history of mental illness.

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>> brian: the man accused of killing two police officers in topeka, kansas is dead. when he ran out he was carrying a gun. he was shot. authorized documentary of president clintonon. they are keeping tight lipped on whether it will include

monica lewinsky. he's looking forward to sharing his perspective on his careers as president. gretch. thank - on >> gretchen: thank you briknow. the gunman adam lanza may have had a form of mental illness. they suspected other conditions like virginia tech's sun hu cho. and colorado's james holmes. how can the counsel row tackle the question of mental health in dr. ablo, this is your line of work. i think a lot of people don't envy your position of trying to care for people with mental illness. where do we stand in regard to

helping take care of people with mental illness. nit is a privilege to take care of them. where we stand right now in terps of mental illness. we have disassembled the mental health care system so it exist. someone who is at risk for violence and has a history of the violence is like low to be treated by a social worker an hour a week for counseling and a nurse clinitition to get medicine. and there are literally thousands of families trying to cope with the fact that their kids are metropolitanally ill and the best they can do when they are sick, is maybe stay in a hospital for three or four days until they promise not to kill anyone that's what we allowed to happen.

nwe don't have a at present. >> gretchen: why are we seeing more of the young boys pacificly do these types of things? what did they used to do? if they had this much rage, was the old way that manifested itself? >> first of all. there are new stresses including intrusion of technology and others that dehumanizes people and our population may have changed . we have removed the psychiatry from the mental health care system and they are not trained in psychotherapy. they are poem who prescribe to six patients an hour and seeing every nine days and why? because insurance companies pay better for that it is presumed and fireworks who want the real expertis of a

psychiatrist and help have to pay out of the pocket. residency training programs don't pay for that. >> there is it a stigma in our society about mental illness. and states have laws and regard to mandating medication. can you explain that to me? >> this is it a big topic and it could be fixed. number one. the state hospital system absorbed the folks who cont be cared for. and we decimated that system. and if you need more time you can't get it too many states, the vast majority of the states don't have a rule by which they can go to court and say this young man needs to take the medicine. there are violent acts in the past and he's unreliable taking it and he should take if in a outpatient environment and he should go to the

hospital. you can go to the hospital because you are so violent and once you hit the strites there is no mechanism to enforce your treatment. that has to go away. >> gretchen: dr., thank you for being part of our team. coming up on fox and friends. guns used in utah used legally. what history say. think you can multitask. this woman is dedefining all hands on deck. happy birthday to the voice judge. . [ dylan ] this is one way to keep your underwear clean. this is another! ta-daa! try charmin ultra strong.

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>> there is one embarrassing moment. everything is going great until they lit the menorah and joe biden ran in and blew out the candles. very embarrassing. >> gretchen: there is not much to say after that joke. >> brian: jimmy kimble. and jay leno and david letterman and your favorite. >> steve: vodka girl . >> gretchen: do shots on there. >> brian: no, i am being sarcastic. i think it is it exciting late night television. >> gretchen: you know more about late night than most. >> steve: he is up. >> gretchen: i don't know when he sleeps. >> brian: i think jimmy kimble going to 11 time time 30 is significant. they had been trying to cancel him. mr. #1: we play the funny

stuff early . we have news like we do and these are the head lines. this is it gigantic news. first freck freck senator ever in the state of carolinament republican tim scott. the governor the south carolina picked scott. >> only in the country can an indian female be governor and freck freck be senator and every child no matter what race or gender can grow up to be whatever they want. he will be the first freck freck senator the south has african senator the south carolina has on seen. >> brian: the tree crashed in the room. >> come down stairs and saw the tree hit the neighbor's house it is it the baby's room. >> there were broken trusses

and sheeting hanging down. i am sure it was scary for thes. >> brian: can came within a couple of phot from the crib. the baby didn't have a scratch on him. he was checked out in the hospital as a precaution. >> gretchen: he will be home for christmas. former president bush will be released from the hospital within a week. he is treated for a bronchitus related cough. he's been in the hospital since november 23rd. >> steve: this brings multitasking to a new level. this chinese woman can write with both hands at the same time and write in both learns. >> she was trying to get everything done. i feel a slacker. amazing.

on the white board. >> brian: suddenly feel like a slacker. jets long shot playoff hopes on the line against the tennessee tiitance. if i get a little bit i am so faster than the white jersey. i wasted enough time. he scores a touch touch. and mark sanchez has a chance to go up. wrong team. and they had four interceptions and gets worse for the jets and in the shot gun. and bad snap and jets lose 14-10. for more on the jets playoffs hopes evaperating is jole. your reaction. only a three hour show. number 10 is number one.

red skins quarterback setting a record for jersey sales more people bought rg3 jerseys than any other player. sorry, tim tebow. word is he might be a republican. and newtown school shooting. they held a moment of silence. uconn beat maryland 84-50. and they created a scholarship. by the way, uconn coach and his wife donating 80,000. one of the best basketball coaches in the country. >> gretchen: there is it a interesting story to tell you about what happened in newtown. gun sales are up this morning at walmart. >> gretchen: that is the civilian version of the assault rifle used guy gi's in

iraq and stan stan i want to make sure i have the right names of them here. the question now is, walmart stopped selling these. they saw there was a on line surge, frenzy for people to get their hands on the guns and many people the question why do people need assaults in tho this country. >> steve: so many democrats are talk being gun restrictions. last weekend colorado state set a new record for single day background checks in the northwest armory. and keep in mind this is saturday the day after newtown and in southwest ohio, building was full and they had a line of 400 people out of the door. keep in mind there was a band that went into affect back in 1994.

and allen gotley wased last night on the o'reily show whether it did much in the slowing down of the carnage. listen to this. >> we banned them one time in 1994. and look at the study on the ban that was done in nine 99 and a university study pro gun rights thought. it showed it had no impact on lowers homicide rates and no impact on lowers mass murders and no impact that a victim was shot with. the truth didn't work. what happened? we had a 10 year supply and it is debated on and you know when it was enact became affected. we'll see this, this time, too>> brian: president obama was told to come up with a

list of proposal and we know that andrew cuomo had a press conference senator warner and senator manchin said we can look at reevaluating the weapons. >> gretchen: things have changed since 1994. we have seen more mass shootings and i don't know if that statistic if i am looking at it if i go with a 1994 particular now we are in 2012. it would be interesting to see if it was all assault weapons thrarp used and number three for me. even if you are for gun rights, is there a difference being for gun rights and against assault weapons. >> brian: i look at the mental illness segment with keith ablow. and whether they should be out there or not. go debate it but the mental

capacity and the people who are killing people with it. and they are totally unbalanced. >> gretchen: what do you need assault weapons for. >> steve: when you look at the number of rifles. there were 12,000 murders last year. how many were committed with rifles? 300. how many mass shootings are done with assault. i don't own guns and so i don't know what they are used for and i have heard thes that you can be pro gun and against assault weapons. and what do you need an assault weapon for. >> steve: what do you. friends at fox news.com. is it time to changelet laws on the books or is there laws that are not used as they

should be. >> brian: the government is putting together a bill to help sandy victims. not if they are putting money to states not affected by alaska can you say cuba? why are they winding up with money. and what happens when super liberals like warren buffet. only they know how to avoid at ing it. good morning, stu. we understan at usaa, we know military life is different. we've been there. that's why every bit of financial advice we offer is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. [ laughs ] dad! dad! [ applause ] ♪ [ male announcer ] life brings obstacles. usaa brings advice. call or visit us online. we're ready to help.

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>> gretchen: berny madoff's younger brother will be sentenced. but he wants to remain free until after the gran daughter's bar mitszah. nand 24 hours before the storm, one man try tod get his

car to evacuate his wheelchair bound daughter but accounted - could not. >> steve: billionaires like warren buffet and bill gates and george soros are petitioning congress saying we believe it is right to have a significant tax on large estates when they are passed on to the next generation. are they looking out for your children or making a quick buck. snow, rich e. people. warern buffet and george soros about bill gate's father. they are super rich people who say you should pay a higher estate tax. we won't but you should. >> steve: currently it is 35 percent and would like to see it go up to 50.

>> they want a two million dollar exclusion . every dollar in your estate above two million will be taxed at a 45 percent rate when you die or pass away. that is -- that catches a lot of people. 500,000 family farms would be caught. these people will not pay. they have an army of estate accountants and lawyers to protect them. focus in on warren buffet. on two 41s. number one he will give to the bill and linda gates 10s of billions and he gets a deduction for thamp he will not pay the tax hold on a second. he runs senlife insurance companies within his berk shine hath away company people

who have assets, but maybe they have some assets and they are trying to do the same thing does the president make money on the plans? >> what you are suggesting that they speed up charitable deductions and pack as much in the year of 2012 and you might get a better tax deductions and that is not getting more money to the treasury. that is actually taking money away from the treasury. if that were taken next year you may more tax. >> brian: why is it that warren buffet can do this. anyone can do that if they are making over two million dollars. and you feel like you are subjected to the new estate tax level you can do the same thing. >> steve: you can hire

yourself a estate tax planner and formulate a way of avoiding the state tax. 99 percent of the people do that and unfortunate low it is difficult to do when you have a maul business or family farm . >> steve: the thing about the death tax. you are taxed the second and third time. you make money and when you die take another bite of the apple. >> steve: >> why shouldn't we pass it along to the children. why can't we do that. >> steve: i am with you. >> is this america or what? >> steve: it is but geth harder to see that. will are are -- >> warren buffet done want inheritance. we must have a higher state tax. >> steve: and ste stuart didn't want a european life style. he defected. >> i am getting hoturn the

collar. >> brian: i can see the varney kids are cheering in the green room and want your money and making sure they will not give up 45 percent. >> three of them are watching. >> gretchen: even though you defected. i am so glad you brought your accent. 92 >> steve: thank you, stewart. and get this. the cure to cancer may robbery in our refrigerator all along. details. >> gretchen: then the government putting together a bill to help hurricane sandy victims. why is it filled with cash for alaska andine cuba. that's coming up. ♪ [ male announcer ] with free package pickup from the u.s. postal service the holidays are easy.

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>> brian: last thing you want to see is extreme weather extreme waste by the government. that's what we are getting in the last hurricane sandy relief bill . >> gretchen: only a traction is dedicated. the rest goes to government projects that have nothing to do with the storm. how can that be? councilman, why is alaska fisheries getting $150 and u.s. bases. >> we have a spending cap and under the budget agreement the government it except in cases of emergency. this is epped run around the budget process . we don't just have fisheries. we have amtrak subsidy for 366 million. and that is in addition to the

subsidies we give them and only 23 million has to do with the hurricane. >> brian: it is a struggle from the gitgo and republicans say there is no off sets and we throw money at catac strophies. >> we don't know where the money is going. there is fisheries which is one issue all of the money in aggregate is half of the money requested by the states for direct aid. wed 80 billion in total relief packages to deal with on the ground. 60 billion is not direct aid 20 billion of fluff. >> gretchen: senators in alaska would say after the sunshine sunshine hit, - tsnami hit we didn't get enough money and they are trying to tack on the expenses to you.

is that the way politics work. >> that's why we have a tax burdep and look, i have no doubt that the fisheries were injured in the tsunami >> brian: but let them fight for that. >> this shouldn't be in emergency relief. not regular send approximating but emergency relief. we are only getting half of what wed for new york and new jersey for the entire area. >> brian: main area. >> clearly the coast line. we have homes and propers and businesss and public spaces from down in the delmar all the way up and all of those need serious repair. breezy point is devastated. you are talking about 100 homes and not a bit of them left. no offense. the fish in alaska not my priority when i have people

out of home in my drict or any other dricts. >> gretchen: you have to wonder why two million going to the mythsonian. >> how is that emergency spending and this comes back with the problem with dealing with the problems in piece meal. we have to look at the budget as a big picture. >> brian: in the middle of the storm fighting to get back on the feet. >> thank you. >> gretchen: coming up next on the run down. will it be the same old story. that guy doesn't want to shave his yeared. >> brian: doctors told this mom who wouldn't make it and she received new organs, here next. hi, i'm phil mickelson.

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you just he to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. share "not even close." share "you owe me..." share "just right." the share everything plan. shareable data across 10 devices with unlimited talk and text. hurry in for a droid incredible 4g lte by htc for $49.99. >> gretchen: good morning, everybody. today is tuesday, december 18, 2012. i'm gretchen carlson. thanks forbe sharing your time with us today. it's now been four days since the tragedy that shook the nation. students of newtown, connecticut, they're going to head back to school today. this as police focus on the

killer's computer. we're live in con condition with some of the hero stories coming up. >> brian: one mom comments firing up the country. she says i am adam lanza's mother. her very honest stories about dealing with kids with mental illness and her personal story coming your way. >> steve: and she was given months to live. now she will be home for christmas after not one, not two, but three organ transplants. this miracle mother here this hour. "fox & friends" hour two for tuesday starts right now. >> gretchen: welcome, everybody. hopefully as we move closer to the wonderful celebration of christmas, we can bring you more of these kind of miracle good news stories because sometimes we can get myered down in the tragic news that happened last week it's good to have an

uplifting reason to move on with your day. >> brian: talk about the fiscal cliff. >> steve: christmas is exactly one week away from today. >> gretchen: it's another emotional day in newtown, connecticut r two more funerals will be held for the young victims of that tragedy. one for six-year-old james. he was called jay. his family says he loved recess and math and called him their numbers guy. the others were six-year-old jessica rico who loved everything about horses and playing with her little brothers. and as the community mourns, students at other newtown schools will head back to class for the first time and that's where we find peter doocy this morning who has been in newtown for the better part of the last four days. good morning. >> good morning, gretchen. and students who escaped sandy hook on friday won't have to go back to school today and they would not have to go back to that building, at least not for a while. no time that anybody will confirm to us.

they might never go back. yesterday moving trucks with police escorts took furniture and brought it to chalk hill middle school. chalk hill was built in the '60s, but it just went off line last year because attendance dropped. to ease the transition for the students to this new space, officials are trying to make things as familiar as they can. >> ed sandy hook school furniture from what i understand will be age and weight appropriate. it's an enormous prove. the healing and back to normalcy feeling that will hopefully come from it is worth every effort. >> parents are not going to be allowed to see the inside of chalk hill before it opens for security reasons. but we're told that whenever it does open, police in red jackets, so that they're easily identifiable, will thereby to console students burks also

check i.d.'s and make sure that things are safe. we're told that the time that the police will be there is open ended. there is no date they will be there. as long as it takes for paints and students and teachers to feel comfortable. we're told there is no word on when students who are in sandy hook will go back to school. i've spoken to some parents whose students survived and they think it should be after the holiday break. back to you. >> steve: peter, thank you very much. it's important that they are going to make sure that the security personnel are clearly labeled security because we've been reading some of the stories about some of the children who were in the school that day and did survive. every time there is a loud noise, they get freaked out. when they see a stranger, they don't know why the stranger is there. everybody has a level of anxiety that is so high, it's good that they're going to be going to a school and pick up the pieces at chalk hill. but like in that story there, you need the appropriate size furniture. remember the little chairs for

kindergarten and first grade because this was a middle school. everything is big size. >> gretchen: when i went to pick up my daughter yesterday at school, i noticed the extra security guards and very well marked with yellow jackets. it was interesting because she got in the call and said mommy, i feel safe because we have many more police officers now. is that the world we're going to live in now, that our kids are going to have police officers outside of their schools on a full-time basis? i guess we'll find out. >> brian: four minutes after the hour. let's talk about one teacher we touched on yesterday. 27 years old, single woman who did heroic things. for example, in her classroom when she heard the classroom across the hall, evidently the gunman came in to her and they said r are the kids? she said down the hall at the auditorium, at which time we understand sop of the kids who were hiding in closet ran out. the gunman went to shoot the children. she dove in front of them and at that time, she probably saved half the students?

her class. half did lose their lives, including jack, who you saw put to rest yesterday. those six kids, where did they go as they ran out? it turns out we know exactly where they went. real quick b that heroic teacher? we talked to that teacher's roommate when they were both fellow teachers as they were in college together. let's listen. >> she loved her job and she loved them and i was not at all surprised she would do this, that she would protect them and give her life to save theirs. heart breaking, but i knew that's vicky. that's what she would do. these kids were her life. >> steve: they both graduated -- that was a young woman named kristen. they both graduated in 2008 from eastern connecticut state university. being a teacher is all that vicky soto ever wanted to do. her sister, caylee was featured in newspapers all across the

country. you see that picture standing outside the school. she is on the phone. she does not know for sure whether or not her sister -- doesn't know if her sister vicky is dead or alive. she's simply begging for information. she says seeing that photo, it's like reminder of that moment all over. it kills. >> gretchen: brian was just alluding to where the six children ended up who managed to escape. jean rosen had been out for breakfast. came home to his house. here he is finding out about the tragic news and sees these six children standing on his lawn. he thought they were part of a school play, maybe it was a skit they were doing. suddenly the kids were crying ask telling him our teacher is dead. we can't go back to school. what did he do? he brought them inside his home for safety. eventually a school bus driver came in, able to help him identify the children, gave them juice and stuffed animals. called their parents. the saddest part to me about this story is that later on, a parent came to his house and

said, i understand that you have some children here who survived. was my child here? and he, unfortunately h to tell her no. >> steve: there is one other story that i saw this morning in the story regarding vicky soto. that is her teacher's aide, 52-year-old woman named ann marie murphy. when the shooting started, she grabbed one of the kids and, in fact, dylan hockny, was found in her arms, and the family issued a statement -- dylan was autistic as adam lanza was. dylan's family issued a statement yesterday. we take great comfort in knowing that dylan was not alone when he died, but was wrapped in the arms of his amazing aide, ann marie murphy. >> brian: what those kids saw, it must be absolutely horrific and unfortunately, we do know one of the kids said, the man came into our classroom and he had a big gun and a little gun.

so it looks like they ran after seeing him and we know that right now there are two people who survived after being shot. they probably will have more of these stories. >> gretchen: one of the big topics of discussion is mental illness and how we handle it in this society and whether we're doing enough. pretty much the answer for that is probably no. one mom decided very bravely to write a blog about her personal situation with her teenage son who she's calling michael in this particular article. i have to tell you, it's heart wrenching to read this entire blog to understand what this mother goes through on a daily basis, fearing for her life. she says at one moment he's fine, the next moment he's threatening to kill the entire family. >> steve: the blog is entitled "i am adam lanza's motshe does d she uses the pseudonym michael, was 13 years old, has mental

problems. they don't know what his problem is, except, for instance, gretch, you alluded to some of the excerpts, michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself and i asked him to return his overdue library books. he is seven and nine-year-old siblings knew the safety plan. ran to the car and lock the door. he continued to scream insults and threaten to kill or hurt me. >> brian: she says at this point, she's stronger than him. what happens when he gets older? he says, i'm hearing this story because i am adam lanza's mother, i am dylan klebold and eric harris, i am saying who i don't even know how to say. >> gretchen: the virginia tech guy. >> brian: these boys and these mothers need help in the wake of another national tragedy. it's easy to talk about gun, but it's time to talk about mental illness. how do you get additional help for your kid?

they need to do something for you to get law enforcement and the medical community. >> gretchen: she says look, i can go and i can turn him in on a friday and he can get new meds and be okay on monday of the but tuesday, he's back with a knife. imagine living a life like that. she is not alone and who is there to help her and what does this say about where we are in our society where mental illness? keep in mind, this guy who did this horrible tragedy on friday had never been arrested for a crime. this is a case in many situations in our society now, i'm thinking about domestic violence. until somebody does something or somebody is dead, people don't do anything about it. >> steve: the point of her blog is that unless the kid goes to jail and a 13-year-old, she says, does not belong in jail, here in the united states, there are simply not many options for children who are challenged. >> gretchen: your other headlines. developing story for you.

richard angle and his crew freed after being kidnapped and held captive in syria for five days. they were driving in what they thought was rebel-controlled area when a group of 15 gunmen wearing ski masks jumped out and pulled them out of their car. they put the three men in a truck and blindfolded them. they threatened to kill them over and over again, pretended to shoot them. firing the gun into the air. the three men were eventually freed by rebels. they just arrived safe flee turkey. here is angle in his own words. >> we were driving in syria, about five days ago in what we thought was a rebel-controlled area. we were with some of the rebels and as we were moving down the road, a group of gunmen just literally jumped out of the trees and bushes on the side of the road. there were probably 15 gunmen. they were wearing ski masks, heavily armed. they dragged us out of the car. they had a container truck positioned waiting by the side of the road. they put us into that container

truck. we were with some gunmen, rebels who were escorting us. they executed one on the. so then took us to a series of safe houses and interrogation places and they kept us blindfolded, bound. we weren't physically beaten or tortured. lot of psychological tortured. >> gretchen: they said they would bring thome a hezbollah stronghold where they would exchange them for five iranian agentses. quite a story. >> steve: that is such good news because he's been missing for a while. it looked grim. but he's free. >> brian: after the shooting, what does the future of guns in america? peter johnson, jr. here live with an interesting perspective next. >> steve: then we've been following this story. easy back ovens for boys? now hasbro's decision finally in. i love the holidays.

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er. >> gretchen: investigation into the newtown shooting focused on the killer's computer. let's go to wnyw reporter robert poser. hi, robert. >> good morning to you and good morning, everybody. we're standing in the middle of newtown amidst a growing memorial for the victims here of friday's shooting. police say they have seized a significant amount of evidence from the home that 20-year-old adam lanza shared with his mother, nancy, in newtown. while police would not officially specify what that evidence is, reports say that

one piece of evidence include has computer hard drive severely damaged for some reason. so police are facing a challenge getting useful information off of that hard drive. also yesterday, police told us that actually two people survived the shooting inside sandy hook elementary school and not just one person, as previously thought. another misconception that police cleared up was that it appears as though adam lanza had no connection to the school. you'll recall that there were some initial reports that either his mother was a teach there are or he attended there. but police say lanza did not have any apparent connection to sandy hook elementary school. also we're learning this morning, according to the danbury news times, right now police have no evidence that adam lanza had any sort of prescription medication for mental illness, but that will be part of this investigation. an investigation we're told that could last weeks or even months. that is the latest, live from newtown, connecticut this morning, robert moses, fox news. back to you. >> gretchen: wow. look at all those flowers around robert in tribute to all of

those children and adults killed. thanks, robert. steve? >> steve: thanks. so what is the future of gun control in the united states? fox news legal analyst peter johnson, jr. is here with analysis. we already have gun control. >> we do have gun control and some people say we need more gun control. we need micro stamping of guns. we need the ability that each time guns are purchased, that there be registration and for each particular firearm that's purchased, the discussion of across state laws purchasing, bringing firearms. but it's a bigger question than gun control. the white house will probably frame it in the context of gun control. is violence the price of our freedom? i don't think that's an appropriate question. the question is what conversation do we have outside of the interest groups, outside of the power lobbying groups on all sides, whether it's pro gun, antigun, whether it's the

entertainment industry? the entertainment industry, through some blogger, went after me yesterday. that's a powerful lobby. $17 billion a year! are we willing to allow our future and our decision making to be in the hands of people that are giving money to congress? so i say people have the right under the second amendment to own firearms. >> steve: indeed. >> the government has the right to register and regulate those firearms. at the same time, we need to be thinking about where should we be allocating law enforcement resources? how can we better register? how can entertainment stop with the culture of death in terms of videos? so there is a big, big discussion that we need to have at this place, at the couch, in town halls across america, just like we did with obamacare, just like we've done with other issues in our history. people have to decide what they

want going forward. >> steve: but you want to see the people decide and try to exclude the lobbyists who have a lot of money. >> the lobbyist also always be there. they have a tremendous amount of money. they instill fear in the hearts of our congress. on every side of the issue. but it's about us and it's about our children. and we owe it to our children who are living. we owe it to these children who died. we owe it to other people who have died in mass violence. let's look at ak 47s and ar 15s. the numbers show that it's a small portion of the deaths and violence in america. but it's a high portion, it's a high proportion of the mass violence episodes. let's look at everything in a dispassionate, smart, objective way that forgets americans and protects the constitution, both. >> steve: it's a conversation that started on friday. >> absolutely has.

>> steve: all right. peter johnson, jr. thank you. next up, a major breakthrough in the fight against cancer. could be in your refrigerator right now. and this woman given months to live. now will be home for christmas after three organ transplants. the miracle mom is here live next

>> brian: the president of iraq in a coma after having a stroke. doctors updating his condition, saying he's critical, but stable. they have not decided if he will stay in baghdad or not, or he'll be flown to another country for treatment. he's 79 years old and never really in that good of shape. major nidal malik hasan going before a new military judge today. the judge could decide to revisit every ruling her

predecessor made over the last 17 months of hearings. the trial has been delayed over and over and over again for the past three years. the last delay was over demands that hasan be forced to shave his beard. gretchen? >> gretchen: thank you, brian. from the day she was born, our next guest has been called a medical miracle. stephanie was born with congenital heart disease. doctors told her parents she wouldn't live past the age of ten. guess what? she just turned 38 on sunday and stephanie has been married for 14 years, has two beautiful children and this recently survived -- she recently survived a triple organ transplant. the first of its kind in the state of georgia. joining me for a good news story today, the miracle mom, stephanie lynnstrom. good morning to you. >> good morning, gretchen. >> gretchen: wow. how fantastic that you are going to be home for christmas with your husband and your two young children. >> i know. i was afraid that i wouldn't

even make it home by christmas and they released me october 23 with some frequent checkups every month or so. i usually talk to my coordinators every week. but it sure beats being in the hospital for so long. >> gretchen: no doubt. this summer in july they were telling you that you were going to die. your family actually came and said their good-byes to you. what happened? >> they did. july 4, dr. brian coggen talked to my husband and my parents and said that i had a couple of days, up to a week, that if things did not turn around, if i didn't get the organs, that he would be having a serious talk with my husband, joel. and two days later, the organs came in. so i truly believe that's from

god and he just gave me a miracle. so july 7 and 8 is when i received the heart, the liver and the kidney. >> gretchen: wow. so you were born with a congenital heart defect. but you eventually need to have those other organs. why? >> well, over the years, they performed four surgeries in my childhood that were medically necessary because i had one bottom chamber of my heart. one ventricle. so it was a correct procedure, but they found over the years that those procedures gave extra stress to the liver. and with all lifetime of medicines and toxicity build-up in the liver. so they didn't know that when my generation was a kid, but they found it in people in their 30s, 40s and 50s now that they are

going straight to heart and liver transplants as the last treatment option. and because i have been in the o have kidney failure with having dialysis for two months prior to thes organ. so i did have three systems failing. >> gretchen: you are a medical miracle right now. the first time this has been done in georgia where you had these three organs transplanted at the same time. >> yes. >> gretchen: as you look forward to christmas this year, and we've been seeing these beautiful photos of you with your husband and beautiful children, four and six what, is your christmas message to people who are watching this morning? >> i think if you can learn anything, that god has created me, created my body and for some purpose, i hope it's to give him glory and to help other people in health crisis, that life's

not fair and you can pick up the pieces and do the best you can with what you have. i also encourage donating organs, of course. people are dying daily waiting for organs and that could have been and would have been me. >> gretchen: that's right. >> i'm just so thankful. i don't take things for granted anymore at all. >> gretchen: of course not. >> time with the kids and joel. >> gretchen: after doing so many of these stories myself, i'm also an organ donor on my driver's license. it's so important and we're so glad that you are here with thus christmas and shared this wonderful miracle story with us. merry christmas. have a wonderful time with your family. >> merry christmas. >> gretchen: we need more stories like that, right? speaker of the house john boehner agreed to some tax hikes in order to avoid the fiscal cliff. but now the president has another request. so will republicans buy into

this? where are we in the state of things in washington? then a kid disrespected his teacher. but it's not the school who punished him. it was his mom. how she took matters into her own hands for everyone to see [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego. prego?! but i've bought ragu for years. [ thinking ] wonder what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. nespresso. where i never have to compromise on anything. ♪ where just one touch creates the perfect coffee.

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that's a $300 savings. you may even save up to 20% on your homeowners insurance. for everything that matters most. adt. always there. >> what is being called a stunning literary find, a danish historian discovered the last remaining unpublished fairy tale of hans christian andersen called congress solves the fiscal cliff. [ laughter ] it's considered the biggest fairy tale ever told. >> brian: believe it or not, we are getting close to at least an agreement. i don't know if either side is going to support the agreement, but the leaders, president obama and speaker boehner, three times meeting in the last five days? >> gretchen: i still think it's a fairy tale because it's just a

short-term solution. even if they come to an agreement, it's kind of a fairy tale solution because it doesn't address the problems that we're facing. >> brian: not in a major way, but it does answer the problems that have to be answered to get to the budget of this upcoming year. >> steve: yep. let's go down to washington, d.c kelly wright joins us live with the very latest on what we know regarding the cliff. good morning to you. >> good morning to you all. house speaker john boehner met with president obama at the white house on monday of the it lasted about 45 minutes. mr. boehner put the republican deal before the president, offering a to cut taxes or let tax cuts expire for those earning more than a million dollars a year. that's a major concession for mr. boehner and a counteroffer the president softened his demand for tax hike when those earning more than $250,000 a year by raising it to $400,000 a year. >> in order to achieve a broad deficit reduction package that

puts our economy on a sustainable fiscal path in the future, a certain level of revenue gleaned from the wealthy has to be met. >> so a rough outline of the proposed deal essentially calls for $1 trillion in cuts, $1 trillion in revenue. president obama is also giving in to some of the gop's demands for spending cuts on entitlement programs such as lowering costs of living increases for people on social security. now, the concessions from both sides show they could be close to a deal. in a statement, boehner's spokesman said they are making a step in the right direction, adding, we hope to continue discussions with the president so we can reach an agreement that is truly balanced and begins to solve our spending problem. and time, of course, is of the essence. congress has two weeks to hammer out a deal before automatic cuts go into effect on january 1. those spending cuts would be deep in defense and domestic

programs, plus tax hikes would hurt and hit nearly all wage earners. economists and business leaders warn it could throw the economy into another recession if something isn't done. by the way, harry reid said it appears the senate may be coming back the day after christmas to deal with this. >> gretchen: yeah. i saw that. >> steve: all right. kelly wright, we thank you very much. let me get this straight. they're talking about raising taxes a trillion dollars and talking about cutting taxes a trillion dollars. that's a wash. >> gretchen: exactly. >> steve: why don't they stop spending as much money? >> gretchen: which is my point that, the fairy tale or the nightmare continues in washington. >> brian: the president still wants his stimulus money built in. >> steve: he does. 80 billion. plus, the other thing about this particular fiscal cliff as detailed in the "washington post" and elsewhere this morning, is that the republicans would give the president two years worth of debt limit. remember the president wanted unlimited forever, any time you need more money, he could jack it up himself. the republicans would give him

two years. everybody thought the republicans' ace in the hole would be the debt limit fight. >> gretchen: it's called your leverage. saying bye-bye to it. >> brian: they get the bush tax cuts permanent for everyone who makes now under $400,000 if the reports are correct. >> gretchen: let's talk about other stories making headlines. he will be the first african-american senator ever in south carolina. we're talking about republican congressman tim scott. the governor of south carolina, nikki haley, picked him to replace jim demint. he promise to do focus on our debt crisis, what we were just talking about. >> we face in america is no matter what we do to increase taxes, it's simply will not have a dent in our annual deficit, much less the 16 trillion plus dollars in our national debt. so for to us close the gap, we're going to have to have a serious conversation about spending reform, balanced budget amendment. >> gretchen: so scott will be the first african-american senator the south has seen since

reconstruction. >> brian: terrifying night for two parents in washington when strong winds sent a huge tree crashing through their home, landing inches from their sleeping baby. >> come downstairs, see a tree fall into the neighbor's yard, hit their yard. it's the baby's room. >> there is a couple broken trusses, sheeting hanging down. so yeah, i'm sure it was scary for the parents. >> brian: wow, the tree landed a couple feet from the crib. luckily the kid did not get a scratch. >> steve: turns out one key to fighting cancer has been in our refrigerators all along in a produce drawer. children, it's broccoli. researchers say broccoli contains a compound that kills cancerous cells while leaving healthy cells intact. they hope those cells can be developd into a new medicine for children with leukemia whose bodies don't respond to the typical treatment. i got feeling broccoli sales a going to soar today. >> brian: sorry george bush, 41.

>> gretchen: my pediatrician told me the one vegetable to have kids eat, broccoli. a stunt getting a public punishment after he cursed at his teacher. his mother made him wear sign for three days. it reads, i disrespected my teacher. i would like to apologize to her and all adults. >> he has a younger sister and brother that look up to him. he needs to be a role model. if this is what it tarrant county then this is what it takes. >> gretchen: i like that mom. she hopes this will teach her 12-year-old a lesson he'll never forget. >> steve: meanwhile, this morning there are just two world war ii veterans surviving in the u.s. senate. that after the passing of nine-term hawaiian senator daniel inouye. one story in his life, which bret baier details right here. >> daniel inouye represented hawaii in congress from the time

it became a state in 1959. he was initially elected as the state's first house member for two terms. subsequently as senator for nine terms. but his storied tenure began as a freshman house member, by the end of his career, he was the most senior member, or president pro tem, making him third radio inn line for the presidency. he preferred a reverence for the institution over the partisanship displayed by many colleagues. although he rarely appeared at conferences or made speeches, he had an undeniably commanding presence. his words tended to carry weight when he did speak out on issues. he chaired four different committees during his senate tenure. the intelligence committee, the inian affairs committee, commerce committee, and the appropriations committee. he assumed the helm of that panel after the legendary senator robert bird from west virginia relink winked the -- relinquished the gavel.

he was a witness to the pearl harbor attack and the first japanese american to serve in either chamber of congress. he also had the distinction of serving in the 442 regimental combat team, a segregated unit of japanese americans during world war ii, the most decorated unit in american history. >> the bombing of pearl harbor, 70 years ago, began a period of my life when i became an adult and i hope a good american. >> the then war department had initially determined that the second generation ail yells were prohibited from serving in the military. >> none of them had committed any crime. investigation after investigation disclosed that. no sabotage, no espionage, no assault, nothing. but they were rounded up and placed into these camps.

>> after inouye and other fellows successfully petitioned the roosevelt administration to change its policy, the military began to accept them for service on a separated basis. >> president roosevelt issued a statement saying americanism is not a matter of blood or color. americanism is a matter of heart and soul. >> he was promote to do a sergeant within his first year and eventually became a platoon leader while fighting nazi forces in tuscany. he suffered multiple injuries and later had his arm amputated. after the war, he earned a total of 16 medals and citations for his service, including the distinguished service cross, the bronze star, the purple heart, and the medal of honor. but he wasn't awarded the last recognition until 2000. none of the soldiers of the 442nd regiment ever received the medal of honor. the military's highest decoration more than 50 years

later, distinguished service crosses given to inouye and 21 other members of the regiment were upgraded to the medal of honor. inouye was in the spotlight during the 1970s as a member of the watergate committee probing the alleged criminal activities of the nixon administration. >> would you care to recommend to this committee any legislation to prevent the recurrence of some of the irregularities that occurred in the 1972 presidential election? >> in 1987, echard another congressional panel investigating executive branch wrongdoing. iran-contra committee. >> we'll miss him. >> he lived a remarkable american life filled with dignity and grace of the true hero that he was. >> daniel inouye was 88. in washington, bret baier, fox news. >> steve: thank you. there is a story out there this morning that senator inouye's final word, aloha. >> gretchen: that's very fitting

coming from the state of hawaii. coming up on "fox & friends," presidents and their pets, how george h.w. bush's little dog caused so much drama at the white house and other insider stories that you won't hear anywhere else. >> brian: still need extra cash? cheryl casone has -- she's got five companies looking for seasonal help right now. she's walking this way. have a good night. re you go. you, too. i'm going to dream about that steak. i'm going to dream about that tiramisu. what a night, huh? but, um, can the test drive be over now? head back to the dealership? [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a passat. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment

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hurry in for a droid razr m by motorola for $49.99. >> steve: all right. welcome back. quick headlines. celebrity hacker christopher chaney will get ten years hyped bars for posting celebrity pictures on-line. tropicana is trying to win over moms trying to cut down on sugar with vegetable juice. the new juice called farm stand

is going to contain carrots and beets and other mixed vegetables, coming to a grocery aisle near you. >> brian: sounds good. >> steve: it does. >> brian: all right. seasonal positions aren't just fort holidays. companies still looking for seasonal spots based on their busy times. here with the top five companies hiring is cheryl casone. let's continue your streak of getting people jobs. >> yeah. we've been successful. >> brian: let's talk weddings. >> 25% of engagements happen between thanksgiving and new year's. david's bridal is hiring now, but they'll need this for the spring. help for the spring. they've got 3,000 seasonal consultant jobs available. you make 7.5 an hour burks add commission into that, depending on what you sell. they need people -- they'd like to get everybody hired by the first week of january. so go now. that job with go into march and april. >> brian: nestle toll house

cafe. >> is a company that has a partnership with nestle. it's not to be confused with the corporate company. you make about 8 to so an hour. you can be a sampler for the santa experience. or you can be a cake decorator. they've 400 jobs hiring through the season. if you want this kind of job, go today. go today, go tomorrow. it may only be for a couple three weeks, four weeks, whatever, but if they're really, really busy, they're going to take new and start you. >> brian: this defies what seasonal help is. seasonal tax. >> that will be big. i don't think we'll be able to 'cause we're not going to know what our tax structures are going to be. third largest tax company throughout the country right now, they're growing. they need about 50,000 seasonal workers. again, this is through tax season. this is going into the spring. 10 to 12 bucks per hour, 5% bonus of all the revenue that you book. position begin january 1. going to be going throughout the

tax season. >> brian: this is second time at least i remember the boston market being up there. >> yeah. boston market, again, one of those companies that's really been hiring. they're kind of like chipotle. 2,000 people for the holidays, drivers, cashiers, people that can help serve, prep, cook. but a lot of these jobs will go through the holiday season as well into next year. >> brian: what are limited brands? >> you actually do know, they own victoria secret. ring a bell? >> brian: really? >> your favorite company ever. they also own white barn and candle and bath and body works. 55,000 employees for the holiday season. they hired the same amount this year as last year. they still need help. a lot of lingerie to be sold. >> brian: go get a job and write you. >> yes. the guest you had on yesterday, she got a job and wrote us. so if you get a job through the site, e-mail us or if you're a company looking to hire, e-mail us. you may be on tv one way or the other of the i'll put all the

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>> gretchen: from puppies and ponyies at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. >> steve: somebody is horsing around. whether they were providing exxonianship or softening the

presidential image, the pets played an important role in white house history. >> brian: yep. jennifer is the author of "pets at the white house, 50 years of presidents and their pets." welcome. >> thank you for having me. >> brian: where did this idea come from? >> i was spoiled growing up and so my parents really indulged us with so many pets. i had another book i wrote "christmas at the white house," the first book written about christmas at 1600 pennsylvania, inspired by my mom and all her wonderful christmas trees she put up every year. we were working on a christmas book and kept coming across all these fabulous images. >> steve: let's start with the kennedys. they wound up with a did you go which was a gift from russia which was a problem because we were in a cold war. >> exactly. >> steve: where did he wind up going? >> when she arrived, she was the daughter of the famous space dog. before caroline could take her home, she had to go to walter reed medical facility to make sure she didn't have bombs, germs or listening devices. >> gretchen: wow. >> yeah. >> gretchen: kennedys and the

ponies? >> absolutely. macaroni, every little girl wanted a pony after seeing caroline kennedy with macaroni. she actually received her own fan mail while at the white house. >> gretchen: wow. today she would have a twitter account. president ford and liberty. >> my favorite is liberty when she was expecting nine puppies, woke up president ford at 9:00 a.m. to go out. so president ford found his bath robe and slippers, took her out to the south lawn. she did her business, they turned around to come in and they were locked out of the white house at 3 a.m they had to go up three stories, still all the way locked out. had to go back downstairs before the secret service realized the president was -- >> brian: truman didn't have a balcony. what about president reagan? >> president reagan had two dogs, luck entry rex. they were fabulous. lucky was daunting. so she went to live at the western white house where she could run free and have more fun. >> steve: let's talk about 41's

ranger. >> absolutely. ranger and millie, there is no greater -- >> steve: she wrote a book! >> she did. millie, she was the only truly presidential dog. she was presidential to the core. she never barked and walked perfectly with mrs. bush. >> gretchen: barney, the next dog was the first one to have the camera. we got to wrap it up. check out this beautiful book for christmas. thanks so much. >> thank you so much. >> brian: i'm glad you grew up spoiled. >> steve: coming up, the guns used in newtown were purchased legally. so is a weapons ban the answer? laura ingraham weighs in just a couple minutes from right now. ♪

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>> gretchen: good morning, everybody. today is tuesday, december 18, 2012. i'm gretchen carlson. thanks for sharing your time with us today. four days now since the school shooting that shook our nation to its core. some students heading back to class, but countless questions remain. we're live on the scene with

some hero stories from connecticut. >> steve: the guns used in that newtown school massacre were purchased legally. so would a simple weapons ban stop it from happening again? we're going to talk to laura ingraham live in dc in moments. >> brian: we're getting our first look at the u.s. marine locked up in mexico. he's chained to a bed. mexico said that's good treatment. his mother joins us with her reaction and what she plans to do next. "fox & friends" starts now. >> gretchen: good morning, everybody. we're going to continue our coverage now of the situation in newtown, connecticut of the there is some hero stories, good news stories coming out of this as well. in the meantime, unfortunately, we're saying good-bye to some of these young children. two more victims are laid to rest. one for six-year-old james mattioli, nicknamed jay. you see him with his pumpkin from halloween. his family says he loved recess,

what boy doesn't? he also loved math, they called him their numbers guy. the other is for six-year-old jessica ricos who loved everything about horses and playing with her little brothers. as the community mourns students at other newtown schools are heading back to class for the first time as police learn more about what may have led to this horrible shooting. peter doocy joins us now live with what he's learned. good morning, peter. >> good morning, gretchen. we're learning more now about the exact moment the parents of at least 18 young victim high school their hearts broken on friday. it happened about five hours after the shooting in the firehouse not too far away from the school when the governor of connecticut came in and told those parents that if their first grader hadn't yet emerged from the school alive, they never would. >> it was evident to me that there was a reluctance to tell

parents and loved ones in that e person they were waiting for was not going to return and that had gonen for a period of time. i made the decision that -- to have that go on any longer was wrong of the i did it. >> authorities say before friday, they never had any contact with mass murderer adam lanza, but that two adult survivors of his rampage are recovering from gunshot wounds to their lower extremities. each of the hundreds of rounds of ammunition from multiple cartridges recovered at the scene are going to be anded individually and connecticut state police say they will have more detailed information for us sometime. it just might take a while. >> i know, we know as

investigatessors that the people of connecticut, the people of this town of newtown want to know what happened, we're going to do that. we're going to provide them any information and all information. we'll paint a crystal clear picture as much as we possibly can. but it is a slow process. >> moving trucks with police escort took furniture from sandy hook elementary school over to chalk hill middle school in nearby monroe last night. that's where this place -- displaced students will class while officials decide if they ever want to send any student back to sandy hook elementary school. back to you in new york. >> steve: thank you very much. by the way, the chief medical examiner for connecticut said yesterday that as the funerals started yesterday, as of last night, nobody had claimed the body of the shooter, adam lanza, or his mother. >> brian: the brother and the dad have been questioned for hours.

>> steve: let's deal in laura ingraham who joinses from our nation's capitol. good morning to you. >> good to see you. i'm from connecticut, up the road from newtown. but i know that town very well and it's an idyllic place with great people and we've seen some amazing examples of compassion, kindness and neighbor helping neighbor and i hope that of the stories that you're telling today, the memories of these young people, what they brought to the community, i hope that's what we focus on because that is the spirit of the season and not the freak that committed these acts. >> steve: there are a number of democrat law makers who already are calling for stricter gun controls. we've got lots of gun laws on the books right now. but you see the statistics and it looks like in states like california and ohio and colorado, people are buying these ar 15 rifles as quickly as they can 'cause they're afraid the government will step in and they won't be able to protect

themselves. >> yeah. i think this happens a lot. it happened in the aftermath of the election, too. people assume that when president obama was relie detectorred, there would be some type of new gun initiative on the books. so people went out and bought guns then. look, i come from a family of people who went hunting and gun club members and so forth in connecticut. my family was always very careful about gun safety and that's just the way we were brought up. we spent a lot of time in texas. people i know there, big gun owners, big into gun safety. >> gretchen: what's the problem here if it's not -- is it that the laws on the books are not being enforced? is it that -- should there be any limit on some of the weapons that are sold? should we have more background checks? all these guns that this guy had were legal. so people are left with a bunch of questions in their minds. >> yeah. i think it's a big and complicated question, right? i think there's a cultural problem we have.

i think we have -- we don't know enough about his family. i know they've been vilified over the last few days. "washington post" has an even handed story about his family today on trying to look at this a little bit less -- in a very kind of outraged fashion which people are. but look, i don't think in a five-minute segment we can figure out what happened here. i think everyone is trying to piece it together. but to say that if there was an assault weapons ban in place this wouldn't have happened, i think that might make us feel better, but i don't see that anything that i'm reading indicates that that would have happened. we know what happened in columbine. no assault weapons used there. we know that out of 12,664 killings over the last year, 323 were committed with a rifle or a shotgun. okay? so as rich loury pointed out in the national review, even if people rushed forward and had

this quote, assault weapons ban, it's not clear this would stop these types of killings. there are lots of other weapons that can be used and unless you really want to go for an all-out gun ban in the united states, which is not going to pass constitutional muster, we have -- we're not going to solve this problem. i understand the impulse, but we're not going to solve the problem. >> brian: so this happens, aurora happens, gabby giffords gets shot, others die. if you were in charge, what should we learn from this terrible tragedy? let's just beef up school security and rein in the video games? what would you say we should take from this? >> well, i think it's a hard call. i think that people talk about banning certain types of magazines. but we know magazines also jam. when they jam, oftentimes the perpetrator are tackled and captured. to me that, would be a smarter way to go than to say oh, this type of weapon. people can do a lot of damage

with ten rounds and a glock .9 millimeter. that's not going to be banned in the united states of america. >> gretchen: what about these video games? there has been a lot of talk about the fact that kids are actually experiencing what it feels like to murder somebody when they play these games. >> right. >> gretchen: i have to tell you that i made a decision after this happened friday to not buy a specific video kind of piece of equipment for my child that eventually he could get those kinds of games for. it changed my mind personally about it. is that the answer? is it a mental health issue? is it all those things? >> i think is this young man was obviously suffering from something. i mean, i look at it and i see evil. i see demonic. people aren't using the word demonic, but i find it to be demonic, what happened to these children, and the idea that families, growing up and raising this boy and somehow you can have weapons in the home with

this boy in the home, a young man, he's 20 years old, that obviously has real problems, i don't understand that. i don't understand how there were weapons in that home with the way he's being described. to me, that seems unbelievable. i don't understand that. >> brian: so then you wonder if the background checks on people should include the family. nancy, you seem fine. you have no criminal record. you know how to shoot. you can have the gun. wait. you have an autistic son, where do you keep those guns. how do you get to that layer? >> we want to rush and say, if we passed the law, it wouldn't happen. people have the ability to carry out massive damage in this country by putting together three or four chemicals. they can do that. >> dylan klebold and eric hairs had bombs. >> we can talk about all this,

but until as gretchen said, wetback what our children consume, what they listen to, what they watch, the numbness that i see in the culture with killings on television, with people thrown in the back of cars on television shows w their throats open, i mean, i don't watch this stuff, okay? i don't allow video games in my house. i know there are a lot of people play them, great people. no problems. but for me personally, no more screen time. i think the screen time is numbing these kids. >> gretchen: no kidding. suddenly that 30-minute of reading requirement that my kids' teacher sends home nightly, sometimes is painful as a parent to go through with just even two kids, suddenly that makes sense. >> steve: there is a conversation in living rooms all across america and soon it will be in washington and let's buckle our seatbelts and see if anything happens. >> exactly. >> steve: laura, thank you very much. have a great week and merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you and

inn the true spirit of this christmas season. we're seeing a lot of it play out in newtown, connecticut and prayers for the family. >> steve: thank you very much. >> gretchen: your headlines. embassy chief richard engle and his crew released after being kidnapped and held captive in syria for five days. they were driving in what they thought was a rebel-controlled area. could have been safer. but that's when a group of 15 gunmen wearing ski masks jumped out of the trees and pulled them out of their car. they put them into a truck, blindfolded them and threatened to kill them over and over again. >> we weren't physically beaten or tortured. lots of psychological torture. threats of being killed. they made us choose which one would be shot first. when we refused, there were mock shootings. they pretended to shoot gavi several times. when you're blindfolded and then they fired the gun up in the air, it can be very traumatic experience. >> gretchen: wow. the kidnappers told engle and his crew they were going to bring thome a hezbollah

stronghold where she would exchange them for five iranian agents. eventually they were freed by the rebels. they're now safe in the country of turkey. fort hood suspect major nidal malik hasan going before a new military judge today. the judge could decide to revisit every ruling her predecessor made over 17 months of hearings. the trial has been delayed over and over again for the past three years. the last delay was over demands that hasan be forced to shave his beard. >> brian: guilty. >> gretchen: key lawmakers about to be briefed on the most detailed report on the benghazi terrorist attack tomorrow behind closed doors. on thursday, two of hillary clinton's top aide also testify about the attack in front of congress. the secretary of state was supposed to testify, but she suffered a concussion after fainting. doctors say it may take several weeks before she can get back to work and therefore, she won't be testifying now. >> steve: hope she's okay. >> brian: she can't take gym with a concussion for two weeks. >> steve: 13 minutes after the top of the hour. think obama is -- obamacare is

only for people? think again. how the cost could trial be passed down to your pet. that is coming up next. >> brian: then we'll update you on a former marine incarcerated in a mexican prison for absolutely no reason. we're putting pressure on the government to get him released. they better give in soon [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. in what world do potatoes, bacon and cheese add up to 100 calories? your world. ♪ [ whispers ] real bacon... creamy cheese... 100 calories... [ chef ] ma'am [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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>> steve: obamacare tax hikes aren't just going to affect your medical bills. they could also affect your pets. that's right. under the new law, health care

law, some medical devices used by veterinarians will be hit by a 2.3% tax. that means that cost hitting your dog's doctor may be passed on to you, the owner. dr. neil shaw is founder and chief medical officer of blue pearl veterinary partners. he joins us now to explain. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> steve: okay. first of all, i didn't realize that there was a tax involved in this that would impact dogs and cats. >> we didn't realize either. we've been able to advance specialized vet care because folks want pet options for pets the same as they have options for themselves. >> steve: sure. >> so whether it's a knee replacement or radiation treatment for cancer or removing a cataract, folks want that for their other four legged members of their family. >> steve: okay. some of the meds and devices used on people can be used on pets and that's why pets are impacted? >> correct. we've been able to dramatically provide the similar services and

procedures for pets as for ourselves at a significantly reduced cost. when our costs rise, those options could become unaffordable for pet families. >> steve: your costs are going to rise under obamacare impacting pet owners. the problem is that if you are impacted as a job creator, ultimately you'll probably hire fewer employees which could impact pets. >> we've been able to grow. we've been able to hire highly trained wonderful, talented folks because folks were able to afford health care option for their folks. if they become unaffordable, then we won't be able to provide that need. >> steve: the higher -- i moon, pet care is very expensive. i mean, at the end of my dog charlie's life, he was facing thousands and thousands of dollars of pet bills to extend his life. so what you're saying is as people, because of the higher costs associated with pet care

because of obamacare, people will have to decide, can i actually afford to pay for this specialized vet medicine or not? if it's the not, that could be bad news for dogs and cats. >> health care is much less expensive than human health care. however, we don't have a third party payment. so you're right. folks pay with what means they have available. if there is uncertainty on the financial uncertainty, then they'll have less of a commitment towards the pet. if our costs rise, then our treatments, which are fantastic, and now provided, will become unaffordable. >> steve: well, people need to listen to you because not only do you know what you're talking about regarding specialized pet care, but also in running a business because inc. magazine named you one of the top job creators. >> we were very honored to be named as such and very appreciative of that. >> steve: all right. dr. shaw, thank you for joining

us today. >> thank you. >> steve: something i did not know. all right. 20 minutes after the top of the hour. coming up, a man with a special message for the victims in newtown. heaven is real. how does he know? because he's been to heaven. then we told you about this former marine chained to a bed in a mexican prison for no good reason. we're putting pressure on our government to get him released for christmas. his mom has a brand-new update. you'll hear it next [ female announcer ] you can make macaroni & cheese

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>> gretchen: quick headlines. the president of iraq now in a coma after having a stroke. doctors say he remains in critical but stable condition. they've not decided if the 79-year-old will stay in baghdad or be flown to another country for treatment. and 22 brothers of the

northern illinois university chapter facing hazing charges after a freshman pledge died during a frat party last month. police say the 19-year-old had a blood alcohol content of .351, five times the legal limit. >> brian: "fox & friends," and everywhere else on the show, we've been covering the story of marine veteran jon hammmar jailed for months in mexico. after speaking to his mom on this show yesterday, she received this picture showing him chained to a bed. yes, her son. as we reported, he's being held on trumped up charges. in august he registered an antique firearm with the u.s. customs. then crossed the border to check in with mexican officials. he was taking the gun to costa rica on a hunting trip. officials arrested him and the obama administration has been unable to get him released. are they really trying? joining us now with new information that we just got this morning is olivia hammar. as a mom, this must be extremely tough for you. what's the new information?

>> we just received a letter yesterday, after i did the show yesterday, first of all, we received that picture from an anonymous e-mail in mexico. and then we also at the same time received a e-mail from the mexican ambassador that had been written to and our congresswoman. it was basically a complete defense and attempt at a justification of the entire situation. >> brian: here is what the state department said to you. here is an excerpt from it. mexico has stringent weapons laws and enforces them strictly. really? u.s. citizens are arrested each year under similar circumstances. u.s. embassy staff visit, provide a list of attorneys and monitor the progress of their case. john's case is proceeding through the mexican justice system. does that make you feel better? >> it's devastating. it's basically no help at all. one thing in that letter, i

didn't open that letter until this morning. they specifically state that he is being chained because of his military experience. so for the people that have been asking me why do you think he's chained and now we know. >> brian: well, what do you say to the state department now after getting that letter essentially taking the side of mexico and their strict gun laws? >> i just can't get over it. you know, at the heart of all of this, in the letter from the ambassador to the congresswoman, he states that all firearms are illegal in mexico, which isn't true. hunters take weapons into mexico all the time. johnny made an administrative mistake. he didn't register. he should have registered the gun at an embassy in the united states before going over there. so basically he has been in jail for four months chain to do a bed over a clerical error.

>> brian: his buddy was released. correct? >> exactly. >> brian: right now did she you got -- you got to get him home by christmas. what are your options? have you spoken to an international attorney? >> we have an international attorney working on our behalf. but so far mexico has not offered anything. so the chances of him coming home for christmas are not looking good at this point. >> brian: you would think the state department would be just as outraged as you are. instead, they're trying to justify it. when you see that picture that came to you yesterday, what do you think? >> i'm shattered. i was just shattered. he looked so hopeless and as a mother to see your child look like that and not be able to help them is just -- it feels obscene. >> brian: i want to show you a picture of the new president of mexico. you would think he'd value relations with the u.s. and understand what the marines mean

to us. what do you say to him as we look at enrique? >> and this case. this is wrong and do the right thing. he should be released immediately. this was an administrative mistake. he is not a gun runner and you know it. please release him. >> brian: you know, you never are a form marine. we hear that all the time. a marine is in trouble, marines across this country. they should be contacting their congressmen and women, contacting their senator. letting the white house know this cannot stand and we need an answer before christmas and get your son home. marine always, and they are a tight unit, they should rally to your side now. i hope you feel that and felt this along the way. but electric here on in, they have to rally to your side. >> thank you so much, brian. >> brian: well, we're going to stay on this and olivia, let us know what happens because

nothing can stop a marine who is motivated and this i hope is a call to action. >> right. thank you so much. >> brian: all right. thanks. we'll stay on this. next, a man with a special message in newtown. heaven is for real. how does he know? because he was there for a week. he's seen it with his own eyes. his book is number two across the planet. then we've been following this story for weeks. should toy makers create an easy bake oven for boys? the decision is in marching band] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. nespresso. where i never have to compromise on anything. ♪

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hurry in and try five succulent entrees, like ourender snow crab paired with savory garlic shrimp. just $12.99. come into red lobster and sea food differently. and introducing 7 lunch choices for just $7.99. >> gretchen: welcome back. new developments overnight as lawmakers race to avoid now the fiscal cliff. so we got word that the president seems to be maybe giving it a little ground, try and make a deal. but will the sudden shift be enough for republicans. kelly wright live at the white house. they're hard to come by, aren't they? it's kind of drips and drabs. >> just drips and drabs, but

hopefully getting to some answers. listen, very much they want to get a deal done. that's why joiner actually came here to the white house on monday to meet with the president in another face-to-face meeting. they talked for about 45 minutes in that meeting. mr. bain put the republican deal before the president, let tax cuts expire for those earning more than a million dollars a year. that's a major concession for john boehner and in a counteroffer, the president softened his demand for a tax hike on those earning more than $250,000 by raising it to $400,000 a year. here is a rough outline of the proposed deal. essentially calling for $1 trillion in cuts. $1 trillion in revenue. some of that will require an immediate down payment and then legislative processing it through the next year. president obama is also giving in to some of the gop's demands for spending cuts on entitlement programs such as lowering the cost of living increases for people on social security. the concessions from both sides,

however, show they could be close to a deal and in a statement, boehner spokesman mike steele said they are making a step in the right direction adding, quote, we hope to continue discussions with the president so we can reach an agreement that is truly balanced and begins to solve our spending problem. >> a compromise that is -- meets the president's principles and objectives of deficit reduction is done in a way that protects the middle class and seniors and asks the wealthiest to pay more will require tough choices by all sides. >> tough choices on both sides and white house press secretary jay carney went on to say the deal, when it's finally made, apparently both sides will not be happy with it or pleased with it because there will be some giving and taking on both sides of the aisle. congress, by the way, just has two weeks to hammer out a deal. two weeks now from those automatic spending cuts going into effect as of january 1.

they've got to get something done. back to you. >> steve: kelly, thank you very much. yeah. he's right. both sides give something, but it seems like a washout for the republicans. i don't know why boehner would go along with it at this point. >> brian: one thing he would get is the bausch tax cuts permanent. the thing is the dividends, investment tax going up will be devastate to go wall vote. >> steve: especially those on fixed incomes. >> brian: he will be the first african-american senator ever in south carolina, republican tim scott, a congressman there. governor of south carolina, nikki haley picked him to replace senator jim demanipulate. >> only in this country can an indian female become governor, can an african-american male become u.s. senator because every child north texas matter what race or gender can grow up to be anything they want in this country. >> brian: scott will be the first african-american senator in the south since reconstruction. >> steve: congratulations. extreme weather leads to a

terrifying night for two parents in washington when strong winds sent a huge tree crashing through their house, landing inches from their sleeping baby. >> come downstairs, see a tree fall onto the neighbor's yard, hit their house. it's the baby's room. >> there was a couple broken trusses, sheeting hanging down. so yeah, it could have been -- i'm sure it was scary for the parents when they went in the room. >> steve: easily. the tree landed a couple of feet away from the baby's crib. luckily he did not have a scratch. >> gretchen: new jersey teen campaigning for an easy bake oven for boys getting her wish after meeting with 13-year-old mckenna monday, hasbro introduce ago gender neutral black and silver model next year. she even got to check out of the the prototype. she started her campaign so she could buy one for her little brother. her on-line petition received over 44,000 signatures and in support of celebrity chefs -- celebrity chefs including bobby flay.

>> brian: the associated press picked its most memorable photo of 2012. here are five. first, remember this, caught terrorizing a colorado neighborhood. a photo photographer snapped this picture just as the tranquilized bear fell from a tree. >> steve: next, memorable moment from the london olympics as a swimmer broke the water surface. look at that. >> gretchen: and then the iconic shot of hurricane sandy's flood waters filling a taxi lot. most of those cabs unfortunately destroyed. >> steve: that's right. who can forget this debate? sparks between president obama and republican challenger mitt romney. unfortunately, the list closes out with a moment no one is going to forget. heartbreak in newtown, connecticut as police lead a line of children away from their school after, of course, the shooter opened fire. that image from the newtown bee. >> gretchen: in the wake of that tragic shooting, some are turning to their faith in order to try and cope. our next guest says it's right

to hold out hope because heaven is real. how does he know? he's been there. he is a noted neural surgeon and the author of "proof of heaven," best seller. he's been on the show several times. people keep wanting to you come back because especially now in the wake of this tragedy, you offer hope because you've seen the light, right? >> that's very much the case. my heartfelt love and prayers go out to those affected by this tragedy. >> steve: sure, i understand that you feel that when tragedy hits a town and a family like this one does, god finds a way to help the victims' families. explain what you mean. >> very much it has to do with the belief and knowing that that is possible. for me it's become very, very clear that that entire realm and

the eternity of our souls is very much a part of all reality. and that is something that i want to offer to them is just knowing that that belief can offer comfort and that they can know that those precious souls are cherished and cared for right now. and that is -- it can be a very comforting message. i'm not taking away from the fact this this is a horrible tragedy, very painful. and i think it's a wake-up call to all of us to get back to our spiritual core and to really support each other and really bring much more love and compassion into this world. >> brian: those children who died in so much horror and rapidly, within three minutes, all the damage done, do you let everyone know what you experienced and what you think they're experiencing right now.

>> it's very much one of being welcomed into comfort and love beyond our human understanding. this is something that many people, millions who have had near death experiences bring back is that comfort is so beautiful and absolutely cherished. we go back to our home, to our maker. that's exactly where those beloved souls are right now. >> gretchen: doctor, if people don't know your story, you were ill. you were in a coma. you left this earth for a week. you were in heaven and then you wrote about your experiences there and you were told that you were supposed to come back to the earth. as people are grappling with the horrible nature of this tragedy, will these children forget when they're in heaven what happened to them?

>> they will know what happened, but they will not feel the pain. they will feel the love and cherishing of their being back there. and they will know that they have changed this world because it is about changing down here, changing this world that we live in by growing our spiritual faith, by knowing that love, knowing the eternity of our souls, and knowing that this is all about compassion and forgiveness and loving each other without any boundaryies. >> brian: your book and you're a neurosurgeon, you never believed in this until it happened to you and you were brain dead for a week and your friends who work in your business say there is no way you could have possibly come back. there was no activity there. where is the shooter? >> the shooter is in a place of

reviewing his own life -- >> steve: purgatory? >> well, i think it's what's called a life review in the whole near death literature. it's a very real phenomenon of reliving all the events of one's life and reliving the pain and suffering that we've handed out to others. but from their point of view, and in that realm, that pain is still much more intense -- felt more intensely by the perpetrator than ever felt by the victims here on earth. i think it's also a call, though, about mental illness and our society needs to help those people who are mentally ill. that is something that would have helped in this kind of situation, to try and have a much better safety net to help those people and show them love and compassion. >> steve: the book is called "proof of heaven." dr. alexander joining us from virginia. thank you very much with some comforting words for the many

families who lost so many just last friday. >> thank you very much for having me back. >> steve: thank you. >> brian: next up, remember the old julie andrews cinderella? ♪ ♪ . >> brian: we have a sneak peek on a . .. this holiday, share everything.

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free package pickup. from the u.s. postal service. because it's nice to have an extra pair of hands around for the holidays. >> steve: with exactly one week left until christmas, many of us still have last minute shopping to do. but that doesn't mean you have to pay top dollar. >> gretchen: here with on-line shopping tips, savings expert, good to see you. people can still get free shipping even though it was yesterday? >> yes, free shipping was

yesterday. good news is, 30 retailers are offering a free shipping. go to freeshippingday.com. they list the deals. gap is offering 30% off plus free shipping. or freeshipping.org where they have shipping codes. >> steve: always compare prices on-line. there is price drop. >> right. you want to track prices because retailers are using dynamic pricing, which fluctuates the prices on goods throughout the day. huxter.com will alert if you prices drop. even if you make a purchase, track it because some retailers will match it afterward. take a screen shot of the product, e-mail it or bring it to customer service rep. >> gretchen: clear your cookies and we're not talk being chocolate chip kind. >> no. so cookies send data from your computer to a web site, retailers use that to track purchases, browsing patterns and what not and they will set different prices based on that

history and that information that they track. so if you clear it, you'll get better deals. >> gretchen: how do you clear it? >> go to your browser and find the function in there. >> steve: it all depends on your operating system. and your final tip is my favorite. you go shopping fo a little while and then realize, wait a minute. i'm not going to buy that right now. this is call the abandon shopping cart syndrome. what's that mean? >> a lot of people abandon their carts because one, they don't want to pay for the shipping. you put it into your cart and then you change your cart and click out of the browser. oftentimes you'll now get an e-mail from the retailer trying to get you to go back and make the purchase and some retailers may even offer you a coupon code to incentivize you to make that purchase. it's not that widespread yet. we'll see more retailers doing it overt next couple years. >> steve: that's fantastic. >> give a try if you want to save extra. >> gretchen: we'll have more tips in our after the show show with andrea if you're still looking for those shopping bargains, which everyone probably is. >> steve: i wait 'til christmas

eve. >> gretchen: you always do. >> steve: straight ahead, a modern twist on this classic cinderella story now on broadway. a live performance on the "fox & friends" set. >> gretchen: first, let's check in with martha for what's coming up after our show. >> i remember that. good stuff. good morning. well, the old fiscal cliff, we've got brand-new information on where this is headed this morning and getting quite interesting, folks. and tom ridge joins us. we'll talk to him about mental illness and the threat to the homeland that it brings. a stunning blog that is going viral today is called "i am adam lanza's mother." we're going to talk to tom ridge about this. it is worth discussing. we will do that today. also 20 frat boys face charges and they are serious ones this morning. bill and i will join you at the top of the hour. we'll see you then. [ male announcer ] coughequence™ #8. waking the baby. [ coughs ]

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>> gretchen: in 1957, famed theater tuo oscar and hammer stein created a musical version of cinderella. starring a young julie andrews. ♪ and i like it so well that from all i can tell ♪ ♪ it comes down again ♪ . >> gretchen: now the beloved fairy tale makes its broadway debut. joining me now, the stars of cinderella, laura and santino as the prince. great to see you both. >> thank you. >> gretchen: laura and i share this minnesota thing together. and you've got famous because you won that grease audition and now playing this leading role. is it honor, glass slippers are so back is this. >> they totally are.

>> gretchen: beautiful. i can't think of anybody who looks like a prince. what is this role like for you? >> it's great. we're telling a kind of new story, but still staying true to the traditional as well. it's a great experience. >> gretchen: it opens coming up in january and tickets are on sale right now, folks. and they're going to do a song from the new broadway show "cinderella." take it away. ♪ ten minutes ago i saw you ♪ i looked up when you came through the door ♪ ♪ my head started reeling ♪ you gave me the feeling ♪ the room had no ceiling or floor ♪ ♪ ten minutes ago i met you ♪ and we murmured our how do you dos ♪ ♪ i wanted to ring out the bells and fling out my arms and to

sing out the news ♪ ♪ i have found her ♪ she's an angel ♪ with the dust of the stars in her eyes ♪ ♪ we are dancing ♪ we are flying ♪ and she's taking me back to the skies ♪ ♪ in the arms of my love i'm flying ♪ ♪ over mountain and meadow and glenn ♪ ♪ and i like it so well that for all i can tell i may never come down again ♪ ♪ i may never come down to earth ♪ ♪ ten minutes ago i met you ♪ and we murmured our how do you dos? i wanted to ring out the bells and fling out my arms and to

sing out the news ♪ ♪ i have found her ♪ she's an angel ♪ with the dust of the stars in your eyes ♪ ♪ we are dancing ♪ we are flying ♪ and she's taking me back to the skies ♪ ♪ in the arms of my love i'm flying ♪ ♪ over meadow and glenn ♪ and i like it so well ♪ and i like it so well ♪ that for all i can tell ♪ and i like it so well that for all i can tell ♪ ♪ i may never come down again ♪ i may never come down to earth again ♪

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